App Review: Learning Numbers by Little Sorter

Learning Numbers Game by Little Sorter is a must have back-to-school app for us!  It is from one of our favorite developers, Grasshopper Apps, who have many other great apps such as Little Reader, Little Speller, I Like Books, and Sentence Maker.  It is currently listed for $0.99 and it is an app that we recommend to everyone who has an early elementary student working on number recognition.

What We Like:

1. The basics of the game. With an easy to use interface and simple concept, this app gets right to the point of number recognition with out a lot of fluff.  It is a type of matching game-the student finds and drags a number in color to the same number in black and white.  Not a lot of bells and whistles but that doesn't seem to disappoint our students at all.  It also gives students great practice at the drag concept on the iPads/iPods, working on hand-eye coordination.
2. Customization.  With early elementary students their number recognition skills are all over the map. I have kinderkiddos who come in knowing all their numbers 1-1,000 and some who are just beginning to recognize numbers 1-10.  When you go into the settings page (shown below) you can see the variety of options you have to help or challenge a student.  I prefer to keep the audio hints on so that it says the name of the number when the student touches it----always a plus to reinforce concepts!
   
   You can also choose how many numbers they are sorting through on the screen, from 1-6. I do like how it will vary within that range. For example, if you pick 6 objects maximum the student may see 3 numbers one time, then 6 the next, then 2 the next and so on. It seems to keep it from getting too stale for them. And finally you can customize the list of numbers that the student is working on. As you can see from the picture it is in groups of ten, however you can have multiple groups selected at one time (so for 1-20 just turn on 1-10 and 11-20) and within each group you can further select numbers (if you need only 1-5 just go into the 1-10 group and check the ones you want).  
3. The range of numbers offered.  Many number recognition apps stop at 20. I really appreciate that this app continues on through 1,000. This makes Learning Numbers usable for the entire year and by all of my students.  No one else knows what number grouping you are on, so someone who is still working on 1-10 at the end of the year doesn't need to feel self-conscious sitting next to someone who is working on 100-1000, as they are both playing the same app that looks the same no matter what number set they are doing.  

What we would change:

Nothing really.  This app delivers on its promise: an easy to use interactive game that works on number recognition.  It would be nice if they took the basic concept from Learning Numbers and applied it to other math recognition activities for older students like fractions and decimals (just a note--they already have alphabet and shapes Little Sorter apps too!).

App Review: Futaba Classroom Games

I have recently discovered Futaba Classroom Games this summer and I am sure glad I did! This app is hands down one of my new favorites, mostly due to the customization and the ability to share teacher created content between devices (I'll get to that later). There is so much to discuss with this app, but I'm going to do my best to keep it short and sweet.

Price: As of current it is listed in iTunes for $6.99.  I'll be honest, that is a little more than I like to spend on my apps. That said-this app is totally worth the money! You will get so much use out of this app; it really is like purchasing multiple subject matter apps all within one! I'd recommend that you try out the free version: Futaba Word Games for Kids just to see what it is about.  But know that you will get a lot more with Futaba Classroom Games.  If you only have 1 or 2 iPads in your classroom this app should be at the top of your list!

What this app is all about: Futaba Classroom Games is a quiz based app that lets you pick the content of the quiz. Sounds basic, but what makes it super cool is its many customisable features.  You can use the app in 2 different modes: practice mode for 1 player or multi-player mode for up to 4 players. When students succeed in the app they acquire a Futaba (an animated seedling) which is rewarding without being distracting.  As the teacher you can customize your own games from provided sets of questions (most of your basic concepts already have question sets made) or you can create a game with any content you want! Another great feature of Futaba is that you can easily share your customized quizzes among the different devices in your school or even to student devices at home through the use of their free Futaba Cloud Service.

Why we are fans:

1. Multi-player ability. That alone is a huge asset!  Even if you have multiple iPads it is a fun challenge for the students to work together and challenge each other in the multi-player mode.  I feel it is important to teach students about competition and how to be a good sport, so it is great that Futaba combines those social skills with academic learning and technology! My students this summer are hooked on this game and that has a lot to do with the multi-player mode.
2. Customized content. You can create quizzes about anything you want, using images or text as the questions.  For example: In the fall my students spend a great amount of time learning each others names and using their names as an introduction into reading.  I can easily make a quiz that shows the images of my students and teachers in the classroom and they get to match the names to the people. Super engaging for my students, easy to create using the camera feature in the app, and exactly the type of activity to introduce my students to using iPads and working together. The other great customization piece with Futaba Classroom Games is the ability to add auditory clues to your images and answers. This allows for vocabulary reinforcement for all of my students and really takes the practice portion of this app to the next level.  
3. Futaba Cloud Service. It is free, it is easy to use, and it really is a necessity for teachers who create customized content within an app.  Our number 1 way to make an app better is typically to have a way to share content between devices.  Futaba took care of this want with their Cloud Service.  After you create a customized quiz you can share it with any other device that has Futaba Classroom Games on it. You generate a code and then share the code with whomever you'd like.  Not to spell out the obvious, but this means that you only need to make your quizzes ONCE! That is terrific! Take my classroom names game I mentioned earlier. If I want everyone to have access to it on their devices I don't have to go around to each device, take new pictures, create the questions again..... all I have to do is create it once and share the code! Got to love easy!

What we would change: Not much. But I do really wish that the default content that is already provided for you as questions sets (ie matching upper- and lowercase letters, counting...) would have the option to have the auditory clues when the image appears onscreen.  For example, if my students are matching upper- and lowercase letters I would really like to be able to have the app say "T" when the image of the T appears on screen. I can go through and make my own upper- and lowercase matching quiz where I have auditory clues easy enough, but it just would be nice to have that choice already in place.

Well that wasn't really short----but it was sweet! Overall Futaba Classroom Games is a great app to take the use of technology in the classroom to another level! If you want to learn more about the app check out INKids website or even this great walk through about Futaba created by Nathan Dumbleton from iPadagogy on youtube. Don't forget to follow our blog so you can be the first to read our upcoming review about another INKids app: Math Champ Challenge!

We are quoted on iTunes!

So it may sound a little geeky (and maybe a bit narcissistic?!?!), but we are SUPER excited to have stumbled across ourselves as a reviewer on iTunes! In preparation for our upcoming iPad Apps and Education courses at Resource Training and Solutions we were going through our tried and true apps to provide to the educators in our classes.  One of our all time favorites, Coin Math, has an updated version. So being the thorough app investigators we are, we wanted to see what was new and different. Well.....when we opened it up in iTunes we found a fabulous review of Coin Math written by US! Woohoo!!!! Be sure to check out Coin Math and our other app reviews on our blog page App Reviews. And remember that we've got an activity pack to help take Coin Math to the next level in your classroom in our TPT store!

Have you signed up yet?

We are excited that our Resource Training and Solutions Registrations classes are almost here, have you signed up yet?

Aug 5 at 8:30 iPad Basics

Aug 5 at 12:30 How to Maximize Learning by using iPads with Daily Lesson Plans

Aug 6 at 8:30 iPad Apps for Teachers

Aug 6 at 12:30 iPad Apps for Kids

Aug 7 at 8:30 iPad Apps for Teachers

Aug 7 at 12:30 How to Maximize Learning by using iPads with Daily Lesson Plans

Aug 8 at 12:30 iPad Apps for Kids

Aug 14 at 8:30 QR Codes

Aug 14 at 12:30 Formative Assessment

Here is a sneak peak at some of the prizes we will be giving away during the workshops.

We would like to thank Sophia.org, Tech Smith, Apps in My Pocket, Finger Print Play, Thup Games, and Drawing Pad App, for their quick response and willingness to partner with us! 

rooCase

I often get asked about the case I have for my iPad. I thought I would share it with you! I purchased my rooCASE off of Amazon. 
(The Amzaon icon below is linked to the case in the store incase you want to check it out.)

 

I love this case for many reasons. 

1. I can zip the case shut. I don’t have to worry about anything touching the screen of my iPad. This is helpful when I put it in my work bag. At any given time my bag can be filled with anything from pencils, to crayons, to snacks, to stickers. I can put my case into my bag and not think twice about the safety of my iPad.

2. It has velcro for ease of access. When I want my iPad to stand up I can stick it to the case and pull the stand out.

When I want to take pictures or walk around my classroom conferring with students I can easily pull it out of the case. It has a slim case that fits around my iPad that stay on at all times. 

3. The case has enough room to zip a bluetooth keyboard in. I personally do not use one, but have many colleagues who can’t live without them!!

It is not student friendly. We use Griffin Survivor cases for our students.

The Tides of Caribou

Angie's Yummy Tropical Tea

We are back at our 'office' space, our favorite local Caribou! We've been meeting here every week to prepare for our upcoming Resource Training & Solutions classes. Although today we weren't able to sit at our regular table---that kinda threw us for a loop! You'd think for the amount of time we spend here they'd designate us a Normoff table! We both managed to start walking toward the wrong table-sorry to those kind people who were probably wondering who we were & why we were looking longingly in their direction. I would say our relationship with that table is much like Sheldon's spot on the couch in the tv show The Big Bang Theory!


To help put into perspective of the amount of hard work & increased time we are doing we have now identified the ebb & flow patterns of Caribou Coffee. We are there for so long during the day that we see the breakfast rush come in, morning lull go out... midday rush come in, afternoon lull go out... after work rush come in, dinner lull go out.... We have yet to stay until close but you never know what the future may hold!

Why are we putting in so many hours?! Normoff is hard at work making sure that the content & presentations of our 9 education & technology focused classes this August are AMAZING!!! We are super excited to be able to share with Minnesota educators & families how to make the most out of incorporating iPads/iPods into students' lives. 

Angie's Tropical Tea after 5 hours!

 Our courses are: iPad Basics, iPad Apps for Kids, iPad Apps for Teachers, How to Maximize Learning using iPad in Daily Lesson Plans, QR Codes and Formative Assessment Apps.  Any of them sound intriguing? Good News! You can still register for our courses! Some of the dates have filled up, but please still contact Resource Training & Solutions to register. They may even add more sessions and dates. If the only date that'd work for you is full just contact us & we'll see what we can do! We've also had the privilege of presenting in local school districts; so if you, your grade level, your school or your school district would like to host your own private session just let us know! Technology & education is what we LOVE and getting to share that with others is the BEST!

Another SUPER fun Creativity App: Animals iMix!

Since we've been all about creativity apps this summer I thought we'd keep the ball rolling with another one of my favorites....Animals Imix! You can find this SUPER fun app here! It is listed currently for .99, and trust me this one is worth the dollar! My students this past year loved to use it during their free choice time. It is a pretty silly iPad/iPod app, one that definitely tickles my KinderKiddo's funny bones! 

Basically you touch and swipe 3 different sections of a character (head, abdomen, legs) as a mix and match to create new and crazy characters! So for instance I just made a Jelterroo--the head of a JELlyfish, abdomen of a butTERfly and the legs of a kangaROO! The possibilities are seemingly endless, and even more so-hilarious!! They list being able to create over 2,000 comic characters with components from animals, food and make believe characters.  Now for the learning part (you know us, there always needs to be some learning and accountability!) After you create your character you just press on the syllable segment to hear each portion pronounced. Great for my students needing to practice blending skills as it offers immediate feedback.  They even added a cool feature that lets you listen to the new characters name, hearing all 3 parts blended together.  If the picture itself didn't crack them up this most certainly does!  They absolutely love it, and even I found myself giggling at their creations!  

Seeing how intrigued my students were with this app during the school year, I decided to utilize it in Summer School and take it a step further.  I created an iMix Character Report where students create whatever character they want using the iPad and the iMix app, and then fill out a sort of bio about it.  Its basic and to the point, but exactly what my students this summer need to practice their writing skills in a fun way!  It has also really helped my EL students think outside the box and work on categories of words. For instance, when they write about what their character would eat they are thinking of the many different food words they are learning/learned.  I also like to add in explaining why their character would eat that when they present their reports to the class.  This helps us to continuously work on speaking and listening skills.  It's fun and educational, exactly what we love about incorporating technology into learning! Stop on by our TPT store to get the iMix report for FREE! Make sure to leave us some TPT love and don't forget to follow us on TPT and our blog!